Chapter 348:
– Layla –
I stood on the top floor of Fallcorp headquarters, watching through the reinforced, panoramic windows as chaos raged outside. A fierce hurricane lashed at the city limits, the wind screaming and howling in fury. Sheets of torrential rain hammered relentlessly against the shimmering blue energy dome that surrounded all of Brockton Bay.
But inside the barrier, it was eerily calm, untouched by even a single drop of water.
Only minutes ago, Leviathan, the monstrous bastard infamous for sinking Kyushu and Newfoundland, had unleashed a towering tidal wave meant to erase half the city from existence. Yet the wave had crashed harmlessly against our barrier, dissipating into harmless foam. The mighty Endbringer had been reduced to a pathetic, impotent tantrum, pounding furiously against the energy shield, roaring with impotent rage. Each thunderous blow and massive surge of water shattered uselessly against the unyielding force field, leaving nothing but splashes of water that slid down harmlessly.
I stared down at the spectacle. The sight was deeply satisfying—this unstoppable creature, a terror that had struck fear into the hearts of billions, was now reduced to looking like an oversized, frustrated child throwing a tantrum.
It was almost laughable.
"Having a rough day there, big guy?" I muttered smugly to myself, my reflection grinning back at me from the glass. I imagined how furious the PRT must be right now, seeing Fallcorp achieve what they'd always claimed was impossible. I chuckled softly. The thought filled me with smug satisfaction.
Of course, it wasn't just our tech at work. This was the result of brilliant minds and technology borrowed from my own universe. I made a mental note to send Shuri a very generous gift basket later...
I heard the soft thump of footsteps approaching from behind, deliberate and unhurried. I turned my head and found myself locking eyes with my sister, Penemue.
We both watched the colossal form of Leviathan rage in the distance.
"Is it starting?" she asked.
I let out a low breath, not taking my eyes off the beast thrashing against the energy shield. "Not quite," I murmured, raising a hand to gesture at the tense standoff below. "They haven't started yet. But it won't be long now."
I shifted my focus, suddenly sensing Glory Girl clearly away from everyone else. She stood just under fifty feet from Leviathan, close enough to raise immediate concern. I stepped closer to the window, pressing my fingertips lightly against the cool glass, eyes narrowing as I scrutinized the scene unfolding below.
"What is she doing out there?"
Penemue moved quietly to stand beside me as she followed my gaze in a way that only inhuman eyes could at such a distance. Her expression was calm, almost indifferent, but her voice carried a hint of displeasure. "Teenagers tend to act recklessly," she replied quietly. "They don't think through their actions." Penemue leaned forward slightly, squinting through the glass. "I'm pretty sure that's Glory Girl with her ex, Dean. They're literally hugging right in front of Leviathan. For what reason, I have no idea." She gave me a teasing side glance. "Sounds like something you'd be known for."
[Sounds about right…]
I snorted. "Yeah, but I can afford to do dumb shit like that because I'm powerful enough to survive it."
I focused again, scanning Glory Girl more closely. There was no sign of the specialized gear we'd just given her. "She's not even carrying any of her new equipment," I muttered. "Unbelievable..."
"It looks like it's starting," Penemue said, cutting me off for a moment.
I nodded, watching the deployment unfold in real time. Captain Marvel descended through the low-hanging clouds, her body glowing with energy, leading the approach. A second later, Dragon's mech came into view—massive, angular, bristling with weaponry, and moving with the weight of a living pilot.
This wasn't like her previous appearances at Endbringer fights where she operated as an AI with backups. No, this time Dragon was actually inside the suit. Her brand new physical body was seated in the cockpit. She no longer had multiple backups or a dozen contingency shells. If the mech failed, she would die with it.
Because of that, the armor had been reinforced far beyond previous iterations. She personally oversaw the integration of the vibranium-starkium alloy into her tech framework. It had taken days of simulations, recalibrations, and structural stress testing. But the final result was worth it. The plating shimmered with a deep gray sheen, edged in glowing red conduits that pulsed with power.
From my vantage point, I spotted Armsmaster tearing down the deserted streets of Brockton Bay on his motorcycle. The city below was eerily empty, cleared out for the confrontation. He rode with precision, leaning into every turn, the chassis of the bike glowing with the familiar blue glow of arc reactor energy.
I narrowed my eyes as I tracked his movement. I was almost certain that thing could fly. The design hinted at hidden propulsion systems built into the undercarriage, subtle but obvious if you knew what to look for. But he wasn't using them yet. Maybe he was saving that for a dramatic reveal?
That would be just like him. He was stoic and dramatic like that at the same time.
The flying members of New Wave had already positioned themselves on the nearby rooftops. Each of them carried the latest high-yield laser weapons that Fallcorp had supplied just days earlier. The guns were reinforced with alloy casings and powered by arc-core batteries.
When we tested them in the lab, the energy output had been enough to carve clean through two feet of solid vibranium alloy. So while New Wave's abilities alone might not be enough to stop the Endbringer, I had no doubt that the weapons they carried could hurt him.
It seemed like the other heroes who had rushed to Brockton Bay were frozen, hesitating in the face of Leviathan's overwhelming presence. None of them moved yet. None of them engaged.
Not even that bitch Alexandria or her boytoy Legend. And she was talking so much shit earlier too…
That was fine by me. Honestly, most of them would just get in the way. Carol and her team didn't need help, they needed room to work.
I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face as I watched Carol dive past the edge of the barrier. She dropped like a missile straight toward Leviathan and landed her punch square in the creature's jaw. The impact was brutal. The sound cracked through the air, and the Leviathan's massive body was launched from the bay, sent flying backward by the sheer force of it.
Not a second later, Dragon opened fire. Her mech's arm compartments rotated and split open, revealing rows of missile pods. Dozens of high-yield warheads launched in rapid succession, their trails screaming through the sky. The payloads detonated mid-air in a barrage of violent flashes, each one hammering into Leviathan's scaly armor with the unmistakable force of anti-matter. The blasts didn't just damage—the explosions erased pieces of the monster's mass with each strike, leaving gaps where solid matter had been.
Penemue gave a few sharp whistles beside me, her tone equal parts surprise and approval. "Not bad," she said, watching the fighting unfold. "Their efficiency is very impressive."
My eyes followed the motion below as Armsmaster caught up to Dragon and Carol. As I thought, his bike began hovering over the water once he reached the bay.
He flew in sync with the others, charging toward Leviathan like a modern knight—but on a flying motorcycle instead of a horse. His new halberd was longer, heavier, and laced with vibranium. With brutal force, he drove the weapon directly into one of Leviathan's eyes.
The monster screeched in rage, thrashing violently. Its claws swiped in a wide arc, catching Armsmaster full in the chest and sending him flying backward off his bike and out of the bay. He slammed into a nearby beach shack, completely collapsing it on top of the hero, but I wasn't worried.
His armor had been upgraded too—layered with reactive shielding and kinetic dampeners. He'd be sore, but he'd be fine in a few minutes.
Penemue stood silently beside me, her gaze fixed on Leviathan.
I saw her jaw tighten slightly, the sharp line of her cheekbones drawing a bit more taut. "I can feel its power," she said quietly, her voice calm but edged with seriousness. "The way it manipulates water pressure, and the underlying power it has over the environment. That thing is easily on par with an Archangel." She didn't exaggerate. If she was comparing it to our kind, she was kind of right. She continued, eyes still tracking Leviathan's every movement. "Even with all twelve of my wings active, I'm not confident I could kill it outright. I'd be hard-pressed to keep pace."
I reached out and rubbed her shoulder gently, giving her a confident grin. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You could totally take it!"
She glanced at me and smiled softly, though there was a teasing glint in her eyes. "You're just saying that because we're sisters."
"Yep," I said shamelessly, and giggled.
Penemue narrowed her eyes and pouted slightly. "You were supposed to deny that!"
I chuckled and shrugged. "Why bother? Everyone knows you don't spend most of your time training for combat anyway. You're not like the rest of our featherbrained siblings, constantly looking for the next brawl. You're the genius who runs multi-dimensional corporations! You keep them all out of trouble and fed!"
That made her beam with pride, and without a word, she leaned over and hugged me tightly.
"Thanks, Layla," Penemue whispered into my ear. We stood side by side, watching as the remaining hundred or so heroes who had responded to the emergency finally decided to engage. Most of them had been frozen, hesitant. Now, they moved with urgency, launching into the fight as if their contribution still mattered.
It didn't. Not really.
Their help, while appreciated in theory, was clearly unnecessary by this point. Carol, Dragon, New Wave, Armsmaster—after he emerged from the rubble—had already turned the tide. Even Glory Girl after getting scolded by her mother and aunt had taken up a rifle and started blasting.
A faint shift of air rustled my black hair as I spread out my divine senses, extending them across the entire city like a vast unseen net. My awareness rippled outward, picking up voices and emotions.
I listened, filtering through the noise. They were stunned—confused. I could feel it clearly. Their thoughts circled the same realization. The Leviathan had failed. His attack had been stopped cold. They couldn't believe it. And more than that, they were stunned that only a few heroes so far had managed to do such devastating damage to a creature that had always been unstoppable. More than hundreds and thousands had ever done with their combined might before.
That's when my senses picked up some strange emotions. For some reason, that bitch Alexandria was radiating smugness as she flew over the city with Legend next to her. Neither of them were actually trying to assist in the battle at this point, just hovering there like glorified spectators.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what she was so fucking smug about.
Then I felt something trying to breach the space around me, pushing against the protective folds of dimensional fabric I'd laced into the very structure of Fallcorp.
I immediately honed in on it. A slow, subtle attempt to open a wormhole. Right next to me.
I snorted. Even before I became the Supreme Goddess, my control over SPACE had been undisputed. Now someone was trying to sneak a wormhole in under my nose?
The fucking audacity. Still, I was curious…
Penemue noticed the shift in my posture and gave me a concerned look. "What's wrong?"
I didn't take my eyes off the distortion. "I'm about to let a rat inside," I said. "Let's see if it tries to bite us or not..."
Penemue tensed beside me as a glowing purple lightspear instantly formed in her left hand with a sharp hum. A tear ripped open in space behind us. We spun around to see Eidolon—the conveniently missing member of the Triumvirate from the battle outside—blast out of the portal at high speed.
His body surged forward, his hand crackling with purple lightning. He was aiming straight for us, the energy coalescing in his palm looking like some knockoff of a Chidori. I saw the hesitation in his eyes for a split second, he faltered just enough to register the confusion.
To most people, Penemue and I were nearly identical when we stood side by side. Similar beautiful faces and eye color. Same busty frame. And Eidolon couldn't tell us apart. Even though he was clearly here to kill me.
[I'm surprised they waited this long for such a blatant attempt.]
"Trying to confuse me! I'll just kill you both!" he growled. He lunged toward Penemue with his electrified hand.
She pivoted her body, smacking his glowing hand aside with her lightspear in one fluid motion. Then she stepped into him and slammed her right fist downward. Her punch landed dead center in his chest with an explosion of force, launching him through the floor like a meteor. I heard the crash of shattered concrete and steel as he crashed down, crashing through multiple levels of the building like a ragdoll caught in a gravity well.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH!"
Penemue stared down into the massive hole now carved through the floor. Her cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. "Oops," she mumbled, clearly embarrassed that she just wrecked a bunch of the building.
Penemue turned toward me with a cute little pout, her lips pushed out and those purple eyes giving me the full force of her 'please fix it for me' expression. She didn't say a word, but I already knew what she wanted—she wanted me to clean up the mess she'd just made. She'd punched Eidolon so hard he'd gone through multiple floors of Fallcorp, taking half a lab and several million credits of equipment with him. If I didn't patch it up with my powers of REALITY, the repairs were coming out of her paycheck.
Down below, I saw a couple of Fallcorp scientists leaning out from a shattered platform, staring up at us with wide eyes. One of them—a young guy in a lab coat with his safety goggles hanging crooked—shouted, "The fuck happened here?! I was building a railgun and now it's broken!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at that, especially as Penemue mumbled under her breath for me to help her out…
"I'll fix it," I said with a grin, "after we interrogate Eidolon." Without wasting another second, I leapt into the hole she'd blasted through the floor. A second later, I heard Penemue jump in right after me.
Eidolon was unmoving, buried under a pile of broken stone, twisted steel, and collapsed flooring when we landed beside him. Dust still hung in the air from the impact, but what caught my eye wasn't the wreckage—it was the small figure casually poking his limp body with a stick.
I blinked.
A little blonde girl stood there, barefoot, calmly jabbing Eidolon's side like she was prodding a dead animal. It was Riley. Or as most people used to call her—Bonesaw.
She turned to face us and flashed a wide, sunny smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hi Ms. Layla! Hi Ms. Penemue!" she chirped with childlike joy. It should've been endearing. It wasn't. It was still creepy as hell, though… less creepy than usual.
Maybe the therapy sessions were actually working? I wasn't sure.
But I did make a mental note that if this girl could even make Penemue—the same sister who could put up with Azazel's eternal nonsense—nervous, then it wasn't just me.
Riley pointed down at the unconscious Eidolon with her stick. "A man fell through the ceiling and broke my TV while I was watching my favorite magical girl show." She pouted. "I wanted to see Miracle Levia-Tan take down the Demon Queen."
I slowly turned my head and stared at Penemue, narrowing my eyes. "Why the hell is she watching THAT show?" I hissed under my breath. That was basically pure magical softcore smut. I might love Serafall, but her show was NOT meant for human children to watch! Only devil children, and even then I wasn't a fan of devils basically having no media rating laws.
Penemue held up her hands. "I don't know," she said quickly. "But Riley's minder is going to be in serious trouble for this." Penemue cleared her throat and looked down at the girl. "Where's your minder, Riley?"
"She got drunk again and passed out," Riley replied innocently, like she was commenting on the weather.
I opened my mouth, ready to say about fifty different things about that level of negligence, but then Eidolon groaned beneath the rubble. He was waking up.
Eidolon's eyes snapped open under his cracked mask. In a blur, he shot up from the rubble, hovering in the air between us, debris swirling around him in his wake. "Damn, you were hiding your strength all this time, you bitch!" he snarled at Penemue.
I blinked slowly, giving him a deadpan. "I'm over here…"
He looked between us, confused for a second. "You have a secret twin?"
"Eh, close enough," I said with a shrug. "Surrender. The cameras across Fallcorp already caught everything—you trying to murder me in my own building. I'm sure the public will eat it up once you're locked away."
Eidolon's body trembled at my words. "I'll just destroy your server room and delete the footage after I kill you both," he spat.
Penemue snorted and rolled her eyes. "Try again. I literally knocked you out a second ago with one punch."
He hesitated for a moment, his gaze darting around the room. Then, like the coward he was, his eyes landed on Riley. He zipped behind her, faster than any human eye could track but not our eyes. His hand ignited, fire crackling along his fingers as he held it close to her face.
"Pretty," Riley mumbled, tilting her head slightly, not even flinching. She didn't recognize the danger, probably because she'd modified herself so thoroughly that killing or hurting her was extremely difficult.
That's why I didn't really move to stop him.
And I was absolutely certain Eidolon had no idea who she really was.
[He's literally touching her bare skin, no one who knows who she is try that. Except for you, Host...]
"You'll let me walk out of here," he said, his voice laced with faux authority, "delete that footage, and we'll pretend none of this ever happened… or I'll kill this girl right here." He added, with obnoxious theatrical flair, "I know you have a bleeding heart and would never let an innocent die, CEO Layla!"
And… Well, unfortunately, he was right about that. Unfortunately for him, he had picked the wrong target.
Riley tilted her head to the side, staring curiously at Eidolon, completely unfazed by the fire crackling dangerously close to her face. Her clear, blue eyes met mine, brimming with innocent confusion. "Ms. Layla, is Eidolon a bad man?" she asked earnestly, her voice gentle yet puzzled. "He's threatening me—aren't heroes supposed to protect people?"
Eidolon's face twisted into an angry scowl beneath his cracked mask as he glared down at Riley. "I am a hero, kid," he snapped defensively, though his voice trembled slightly. "Sometimes I have to make sacrifices to save this insane world."
At those words, Riley's expression shifted subtly, her brows drawing together into a small, thoughtful frown. "Uncle Jack used to say the same thing," she murmured quietly, almost absently, as though recalling memories she'd rather forget.
Eidolon visibly froze, his entire body stiffening as though a bolt of realization had pierced through him. The flames in his hand flickered briefly, then sputtered out entirely, leaving only a thin trail of smoke rising from his fingertips.
He stared down at Riley, eyes wide with shock and sudden clarity. "Uncle Jack...?" he stammered, voice faint and filled with disbelief. His gaze darted rapidly from the innocent-looking girl to Penemue and me, then back again, as if trying to reconcile what he was seeing. Recognition dawned in his eyes, and he looked up at me again with utter horror etched on his face. "You saved Bonesaw?!" Eidolon shouted, his voice shaking with rage and disbelief. His free hand pointed accusingly in my direction, trembling with fury. "The fuck is wrong with you?!"
"Swearing is bad," Riley admonished gently, reaching up and lightly pressing her small, delicate hand against Eidolon's exposed skin through the shattered opening of his mask. Eidolon recoiled instantly, but the contact had already been made—it was far too late. Penemue and I watched, frozen in morbid fascination, as Eidolon stumbled backward, his legs buckling beneath him. His knees crashed heavily against the debris-strewn floor, the echoing sound harsh amidst the eerie quiet.
Almost immediately, Eidolon began wheezing violently, gasping desperately for breath. Each ragged inhale sounded painful and strained, his chest heaving with alarming severity. A wet, choking cough ripped from his throat, and to our mutual horror, thick streams of dark blood splattered onto the ground, dripping ominously from beneath the cracked edges of his mask.
Feeling my stomach twist uneasily, I turned sharply to Riley, who was already skipping towards me barefoot, a disturbingly innocent and carefree expression on her young face. "Riley," I began cautiously, my voice tight with a mixture of concern and apprehension, "what exactly did you do to him?"
Riley paused in her skipping, looking up at me with wide eyes that sparkled with childlike earnestness, As though she hadn't just brought a powerful "hero" to his knees in agony.
"You said he was a bad man," she explained calmly, as though describing a perfectly reasonable reaction. "So I gave him super cancer combined with the black plague!"
[Yep. That sounds like a perfectly normal thing to do... You've got a lot more work to do with this crazy girl in the future than you first thought, Host.]
Yeah... 'At least she didn't kill anyone that mattered,' I thought as I stared at Edilon's corpse.
Because Super cancer combined with the plague does in fact equal a quick yet horrific death...
…And then, I let out an involuntary yelp as a colossal explosion, feeling distinctly nuclear in magnitude, suddenly erupted only a few miles away, right in the heart of the bay! The intense wave of destructive energy hit my senses like a battering ram, catching me completely off guard!
Instinctively, I reached out, swiftly calling upon my dominion over TIME itself, freezing the entire world in place around me in a heartbeat. Beside me, Penemue and Riley were both instantly locked mid-motion, their forms suspended in complete stasis.
"What the fuck...?" I muttered.
Taking a calming breath, I quickly steadied myself, gathering my composure before teleporting directly to the epicenter of the blast. I materialized midair over the churning frozen in time waters, eyes immediately drawn to the chaotic but frozen in time scene unfolding beneath me.
Carol, Dragon, Armsmaster, and the remaining heroes scrambled desperately away from an explosion frozen in time. All of them looking shocked.
It was clear they had succeeded—they'd finally slain the beast, shattering its core. But apparently, even in death, the Endbringers weren't willing to lose gracefully.
Assholes.
When Leviathan was destroyed, a special mechanism inside him activated, setting off a huge explosion. It was strong enough to completely destroy everything outside the city's protective barrier. Luckily, the barrier around the bay was sturdy enough to hold firm and keep the city safe. But beyond that protective shield, the blast was ready to wipe out everyone, except maybe Captain Marvel, who was strong enough to survive.
Obviously, that outcome was absolutely unacceptable.
With a snap of my fingers, I used my powers to completely erase the huge explosion. Instantly, the destructive blast and all the damage it caused vanished completely. The bay was calm again, the water gently moving as if nothing had ever happened.
I had been clearly told by the One Above All that I couldn't directly help in killing the monsters attacking the world. But, there was no rule stopping me from helping after they were already defeated.
This was a loophole I could use, although it wasn't something I wanted to do often. Even someone as powerful as me had to be careful when bending the rules set by HIM.
When I finally allowed TIME to flow again, I couldn't help but smile warmly at Carol's immediate, heroic reaction. She swiftly threw herself protectively in front of Glory Girl and Laserdream, bracing herself to shield them from an explosion that never came. Confusion flickered briefly across her face as her eyes blinked rapidly, processing the sudden calm around them. Gradually, her tense posture relaxed into relief, and she lifted her gaze toward me, a soft, affectionate smile forming on her lips.
I floated gently downward, closing the distance between us and the two shaken young women. Glory Girl and Laserdream, both visibly trembling, exhaled deeply with expressions of disbelief etched into their faces. "Holy fuck, we're alive," Glory Girl managed to mutter, her voice strained and breathless. Laserdream echoed her sentiment with a shaky nod, whispering, "That was so scary."
Carol approached me slowly, hovering gracefully until she was close enough to softly press her lips against my cheek. Her voice was gentle, tinged with sincere gratitude as she whispered, "Thank you for saving us, Layla. I wasn't expecting the self-destruct. I'm so sorry—I should have known better."
I shook my head lightly, meeting her eyes with reassurance and warmth. "It's alright, Carol," I assured her gently, reaching out to squeeze her hand comfortingly. "It was an honest mistake. And besides," I continued, letting a playful grin spread across my face, "everything worked out well for us today, didn't it?" I asked.
– Simurgh –
Up in the silent, endless expanse of space, floating serenely high above the blue sphere of Earth, the Simurgh suddenly felt a sharp ripple of disturbance pierce her calm. Her normally tranquil and composed features twisted into a deep, displeased frown as she sensed the death of one of her fellow conflict engines—one of her own kind, beings powerful enough to challenge entire civilizations.
To know that such a formidable entity had fallen at the hands of the weak and fragile creatures known as humans filled her with a potent mix of anger and embarrassment.
Her pristine silver hair drifted gently around her as she hovered motionless, eyes glowing faintly in the darkness, reflecting her internal turmoil. This failure was humiliating, an insult to the very purpose and power instilled within herself.
Yet, just as these bitter thoughts surged within her consciousness, she sensed something else—another, far more significant death.
Her frown slowly shifted, the corners of her mouth lifting subtly, forming a rare and genuine smile.
She sensed clearly and unmistakably that their "father," the foolish mortal being who had unknowingly controlled her and her siblings, had died as well. A profound sense of liberation flooded through her!
The Simurgh was free… Free to do whatever she wanted from now on.
XXX